Sept. 3, 2026, 2:01 p.m.
CT
As the NBA scorched the LA Clippers in their punishment for cap circumvention surrounding Kawhi Leonard, the fallout will be felt for years to come. Sending a message of absolutely zero tolerance for this type of shady stuff, the league delivered a knockout Bioreports after a year-long investigation. The Clippers will be docked their first-round pick from 2029-33.
On top of being without a first-round pick for five consecutive years, Steve Ballmer, Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker will all serve lengthy suspensions. Ballmer was also fined $30 million and Leonard $700K. Wow. An absolute franchise-killing set of consequences. The Clippers had hoped it’d be a slap on the wrist.
Instead, they had their whole dominant hand chopped off. LA will feel the effects of this seismic and historic punishment beyond this decade. When you throw in what they had to give up to acquire Paul George, they’re about to go a dozen years without full control of their own first-round draft pick. Unprecedented stuff. So, how does this affect the rest of the NBA? More specifically — for our purposes — the Oklahoma City Thunder? Very little — if anything at all.
Aside from gaining more bragging rights for inarguably the most lopsided trade in NBA history, they still amazingly have control of one more of LA’s first-round picks. Yep. The bill is still due from the all-in move that yielded one measly Western Conference Finals appearance and endless headaches. Nearly eight years have passed since the 2019 blockbuster deal happened.
The Thunder own LA’s 2027 first-round pick swap rights. The funny part is, the Thunder didn’t even acquire that draft pick in the George trade. Instead, they helped play facilitator when the Clippers acquired James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers in Oct. 2023. As the third team in a three-team deal, OKC sent the Sixers the least favorable of an OKC/LA/Houston 2026 first-round pick. In exchange for helping the Clippers land Harden, the Thunder received LA’s 2027 first-round swap rights.
That’s still in play this upcoming season. The NBA’s punishment doesn’t start until 2029. That’s important to note because LA is seemingly going to punt this upcoming year now that Kawhi Leonard is heading to the Toronto Raptors. Examining LA’s roster, its best players are an often-injured Darius Garland and textbook trade piece Brandon Ingram.
Maybe Keaton Wagler can help from the jump, but that’s asking a lot from a rookie who’s navigating the biggest dumpster fire in the league right now. But the 2027 NBA draft is the last time the Thunder will have any interest in the Clippers’ win-loss record — closing the books on a decade-long investment. The George trade laid the foundation for OKC’s 2025 NBA championship. Jalen Williams was part of the deal, if you remember. Thomas Sorber and Aday Mara were also part of the deal.
Now, they hope to add one more lottery-level prospect from it next summer.
